


Corruption

by loeysxdaisies



Series: Downward Spiral [2]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Badass Baekhyun, BaekYeol - Freeform, M/M, Minor Character Death, Violence, badass chanyeol, but nothing bad, chanyeol wears a suit and rolls his sleeves up to his elbows, more mafia au yay, o u c h, they're all badass tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-07-04 02:09:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15831585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loeysxdaisies/pseuds/loeysxdaisies
Summary: “I’m not going to tell you what I want you to do because this has to be entirely your own decision. Whatever you do, though, I’ll support you.”





	Corruption

**Author's Note:**

> here's more mafia au! here! take it!
> 
> this is completely self-indulgence i don't have any excuse other than I LOVE THIS AU
> 
> (i'm also not the happiest with how this turned out see the other author's note if you want to find out why but i'm posting it anyway)
> 
> this story takes place during the winter break of baekhyun's senior year of college, around halfway or so between the original one shot and its epilogue.

Chanyeol’s favorite thing in the world was getting to wake up next to Baekhyun—scratch that, not next to him but wrapped _around_ him.

Baekhyun was just—he was so _perfect_. Made just for him, Chanyeol was sure. And to top it all off, he was still naked from the night before and Chanyeol absolutely thrived off the skin-on-skin contact. His tiny boyfriend was so, so warm and still deep asleep that Chanyeol fleetingly wondered why he’d woken up without his alarm and pressed his forehead to the back of Baekhyun’s head, tightening his arm that was draped over Baekhyun’s waist and pulling him as close as he could as he settled down to go back to sleep.

Now, Chanyeol’s _least_ favorite thing was to be woken up by something work-related before his alarm went off or on his days off (which he took more of now that Baekhyun was on semester break from school).

It was with a labored breath that Chanyeol pulled his arm off of Baekhyun (and adjusted the covers to make sure he wouldn’t be cold), rolled over, and answered the vibrating phone on his nightstand.

“This had better be good.” He whispered harshly, rolling onto his back. Next to him, Baekhyun whimpered in his sleep and rolled over, instinctively chasing the heat that was no longer draped over his back.

“Mr. Park, sir, we need you to come in.”

“Why?” Chanyeol reached a hand out and grabbed Baekhyun’s wrist that was positioned up by his head, holding it, and the contact seemed to calm Baekhyun down for he settled almost immediately after that.

“I’ve received reports that Cho has been dealing with the Zhangs.” Junmyeon, the man in charge when Chanyeol wasn’t in, spoke calmly and concisely. “A couple of their representatives are requesting a meeting to draw up a new contract, and a few of their men have been spotted around our borders.”

Chanyeol hissed. “Fuck, okay, just—” He glanced at the clock on his nightstand, “I’ll be there in an hour. Send Sehun and Minseok over right now.”

“Yes, sir.”

Chanyeol let out a frustrated groan and dropped his phone on the bed, casting a look over at Baekhyun, who was still sleeping peacefully. Silently, he leaned over and pressed a light kiss to Baekhyun’s forehead and then rolled out of bed, stretching and making his way to the bathroom.

Baekhyun was out of bed by the time Chanyeol emerged from the shower and the mafia boss simply got dressed, practically able to see Baekhyun in his mind in the kitchen.

It had taken a while, but after almost three solid months of waking up next to Baekhyun Chanyeol stopped worrying that he was going to be left in the middle of the night, no matter how many times before then Baekhyun had assured him he wouldn’t.

Chanyeol was proven right, as he so often was, when he was looping his tie under his collar as he made his way down the stairs and smelled coffee and heard faint hums as his little love meandered around the kitchen.

“Good morning, Darling.” Chanyeol paused for a moment behind Baekhyun and wrapped his arms around his shoulders, dropping a kiss to his hoodie-clad shoulder.

“Good morning.” Baekhyun smiled and turned his head, puckering his lips and Chanyeol pecked them lightly before pushing off and making his way over to the pantry. “You’re up early.”

“I got a call.” Chanyeol pulled a plastic container of croissants out of the pantry and cracked it open, sliding it across the island while Baekhyun pulled a regular mug and a travel mug out of the cabinet and began pouring the coffee. “I need to go in.”

“Anything serious?”

Chanyeol was a bit more open with his business and what was going on, what he was doing and all that, but he also did his best not to worry his boyfriend very much. Baekhyun got pretty anxious easily—he was on semester break for the winter of his last year, and he was _still_ a bit skinnier from the weight he lost during finals week. Chanyeol didn’t want to put any extra stress on him when he himself didn’t even really know what was going on.

“I’m not sure.” He answered after a short pause. “I’m having Sehun and Minseok come over, though, to keep an eye on you while I’m out.”

“Just in case?”

“Just in case.” Chanyeol swooped down and stole another kiss from Baekhyun before he checked his phone. Baekhyun secured the lid on the travel mug and slid it towards the container of croissants. “They’re here.”

Just then there was a knock at the door and Baekhyun looked curiously up at Chanyeol, who nodded and then went to get it.

“Good morning.” Baekhyun greeted the two men with a smile and stepped back to let them in.

“Morning, shortie,” Sehun bopped Baekhyun’s head as he passed him into the apartment. Minseok nodded stoically, but his eyes still held a softness towards the college student.

Sometimes, Baekhyun was still taken by surprise when he watched his boyfriend go from the warmest, softest human being he knew to cold, rock-hard mafia boss. Like this moment, just after six-thirty in the morning, when Chanyeol rounded the counter and approached his men. Both Minseok and Sehun stood in beside each other with their hands folded neatly behind their backs, expressions sober and attentive.

“Thanks for coming over,” Chanyeol nodded at Baekhyun, who was able to read his boyfriend’s signals by now and wandered back into the kitchen to stand behind the counter, his hands on his coffee mug and his eyes on the boss. “You guys know the drill. _Anything_ that seems out of the ordinary, you call me immediately. Baekhyun is your number one priority.” Baekhyun looked down at his mug and pulled his bottom lip between his teeth.

Both men nodded and Chanyeol looked back at Baekhyun. “I’m going to go grab my stuff and then head out.”

Chanyeol disappeared up the stairs and Baekhyun smiled at Sehun and Minseok who both let out a noticeable breath when their boss turned his back.

“Coffee?” Baekhyun held his mug up in offering and Sehun cracked a smile.

“I’d _love_ some.” Sehun took a couple steps towards the island and Minseok nodded in agreement. “It’s fucking _early_.”

“Why are you up, anyway?” Minseok asked after thanking Baekhyun for his mug. He perched on one of the barstools and the two rolled their eyes as Sehun took a sip and started coughing, begging for some creamer.

“You’re a baby,” Baekhyun put the bottle in front of Sehun and leaned on the counter across from Minseok. He shrugged. “I just—I don’t know. Whenever Chanyeol gets up I have this _sense_ and I have to get up, too. Normally I can go back to sleep after he’s left, I guess I just like being up with him.”

“That’s one of the cutest fucking things I’ve heard in my life.” Sehun cooed after pouring in so much creamer that his mug almost overflowed.

“Shut up,” Baekhyun took a drink and hid his flush behind his mug. Luckily, Chanyeol came down the stairs then and saved Baekhyun from future embarrassment for the moment.

“I’m out.” The two men—guards, technically, but Baekhyun wasn’t a fan of that connotation, so they stuck with _men_ —nodded respectfully at their boss and Baekhyun grabbed the travel mug and walked around the counter to walk Chanyeol to the door.

“Hopefully I won’t be back too late,” Chanyeol pulled a thick overcoat over his suit and did the buttons up before slinging his work bag over his shoulder. “I’ll keep you updated.”

“Please do.” Chanyeol took the travel mug and held it in his left hand. Baekhyun glanced at the men sitting at the counter and they both took the hint, looking away from the couple and re-facing the bar.

Once they turned around Baekhyun wrapped a hand around the back of Chanyeol’s neck, pulling him down for a kiss.

Chanyeol smiled into it—he recognized the way Baekhyun was holding him and kissing him—he was worried, even just a bit. In response, Chanyeol tilted his head and deepened the kiss, feeling Baekhyun relax under him as he took control.

“Hey,” he pulled back and set his coffee on the table near the door and cupped Baekhyun’s cheeks, “I’m going to be fine, okay? I _promise_.”

“I know,” Baekhyun took a breath and nodded, “I know you are. I just—” he reached out and smoothed out the lapel of Chanyeol’s overcoat. “I can’t help but worry about you.”

“Don’t,” Chanyeol kissed his forehead softly. “Don’t worry about me, okay? I’ll be back before you know it. And if you need anything, you know that’s what Sehun and Minseok are for.”

Baekhyun nodded—he _did_ know. This happened a bit more than he liked, but Chanyeol had come home safe every time so far. Why would today be any different?”

Chanyeol kissed him again and then picked his coffee back up. “Go back to bed, okay? You’re still tired from your exams, I can tell.” His thumb brushed over Baekhyun’s cheeks and his boyfriend leaned into the touch. “I’ll see you later.”

Baekhyun put his hand over Chanyeol’s and held it there for a moment, “I love you.”

“I love you too, Baek,” Chanyeol responded with a laugh. He bent down and pressed a kiss to Baekhyun’s other cheek, then pulled back and was out the door.

Baekhyun turned away from the door and walked back to the kitchen, where Minseok and Sehun were still sitting at the bar.

“Need anything else?” Baekhyun asked, picking his mug up and cradling the still-warm ceramic in his hands as he let out a breath.

“We’re good, Mr. Byun,” Minseok refused to call Baekhyun anything other than Mr. Byun, “You should go back up to bed. We’ll keep an eye on things down here.”

Baekhyun smiled shyly and nodded. “You guys are as bad as Chanyeol.” He still lingered in the kitchen, though, and the two guards exchanged a look before Sehun spoke up.

“You know you’re safe, right, Baekhyun? We won’t let anything happen to you.” Sehun promised, leaning forward on the counter and looking softly upon the college student.

“Yeah, yeah I know. It’s not me I’m worried about, though. I can’t help it.”

“Mr. Park is one of the most capable people—if anyone can take care of themselves, he can.” Minseok reminded him. “Try and get some more sleep. Driving yourself crazy waiting for him to get home isn’t going to help, in fact, it’ll probably just make him mad, right?”

“You’re right.”

There had been a period of three weeks a couple of months ago when Sehun and Minseok had lived with Baekhyun while Chanyeol had been out of the country on business. Previously whenever Chanyeol had been away on business Baekhyun hadn’t worried considering that he hadn’t known what the business was, but those three weeks had been the first time Chanyeol had given him a bit of information on what he was doing, and it had driven the college student _insane_ with worry.

In the end, he’d eaten _maybe_ one meal a day and slept half his usual amount, instead throwing himself into his school work to avoid thinking about Chanyeol and what he may have been doing at that moment. And when the mafia boss had gotten home he spent a week keeping Baekhyun on a strict eating and sleeping schedule before blowing up and getting pissed at his boyfriend, lecturing him on taking care of himself no matter what Chanyeol was up to.

Sehun and Minseok had gotten a much angrier, much more violent earful when Chanyeol had returned to the office. Not only did the men want to keep Baekhyun healthy, but they didn’t want Chanyeol mad at them again—that had been scary enough the first time.

“Baekhyun,” Sehun cocked his head towards the stairs, “go back to bed.”

“Okay.” Baekhyun took another drink of his coffee and then looked down at his socked feet, shifting his weight. “Actually, I’m—uh, a little…”

“Nervous?” Sehun stood up and beckoned Baekhyun forward. “I’ll walk you up there.”

Baekhyun smiled, grateful that Sehun had understood before he’d said anything and the male followed him upstairs, bidding Baekhyun goodnight (or good morning) and shutting the door as he settled in.

Baekhyun was worried that he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep—he had trouble sleeping without Chanyeol when Chanyeol  _wasn’t_ doing anything dangerous, it should be impossible given the present situation. It seemed all the mafia members knew him better than he knew himself, though, and with finals just a week behind him he still needed to catch up on his sleep.

He was out the minute his head hit Chanyeol’s pillow, his lover’s scent flooding his senses and overwhelming him with _calm_.

 

* * *

 

His momentary calm was broken when his phone vibrated annoyingly on his nightstand.

Baekhyun let out a groan and, after getting over his initial _where am I_ phase of being woken up so suddenly, he flailed his arm out as he rolled over and fumbled for his phone on the nightstand.

“’Yeol?” Baekhyun answered the phone, confused. His voice was still a bit husky from sleep and he settled on his back, drawing the blanket down from his chest and he ran a hand over his face.

“ _Hey, Darling, I’m sorry I had to wake you,”_ Chanyeol spoke tensely on the other end of the line, and Baekhyun pushed up onto one of his elbows.

“What’s going on?”

 _“I need you to do something for me—hold on_ ,” the receiver was covered, and Baekhyun could hear Chanyeol’s muffled voice barking orders before returning to the conversation, _“I need you to trust me, okay?”_

“I do, ‘Yeol, you know that.” Baekhyun sat all the way up and ran an anxious hand through his hair. “What is going on?”

 _“I can’t explain over the phone.”_ Chanyeol sounded out of breath, _“I’m sorry. I promise I’ll explain everything when you get here.”_

“I’m coming _to_ you?” Baekhyun had only ever been to the big building where Chanyeol’s central office was once, briefly one morning when Chanyeol had just stopped by to pick up some documents, and he hadn’t left the lobby.

 _“Sehun and Minseok will bring you up, all you need to do is go take a shower and get dressed. Don’t worry about bringing anything.”_ Chanyeol was speaking very rushed, trying to get out his information to Baekhyun as quickly as he could without freaking him out. _“Just—shower quickly, okay?”_

“Okay,” Baekhyun rolled out of the bed and crossed the room, shutting the door to the bathroom and turning the shower on. “You’re scaring me.”

 _“I know, Darling, I’m sorry.”_ Chanyeol let out a heavy breath. Baekhyun could practically see Chanyeol running a hand over his face and back through his hair the way he did when he got frustrated. _“Just get here as soon as you can. Everything’s going to be fine.”_

“Are you trying to tell me that, or yourself?” Baekhyun asked shakily. He hadn’t heard Chanyeol like this before, not since—not since the first night Baekhyun found out who he really was.

 _“A bit of both, I guess,”_ Chanyeol admitted. _“Get ready, Darling. I’ll see you soon.”_

“I love you, Chanyeol.” It felt a bit strange, Baekhyun comforting Chanyeol at this moment when it really should’ve been the other way around. This was how they worked, though, they were a team. They relied on each other, and sometimes Chanyeol was the unsteady one, wrapping Baekhyun up in his arms and squeezing just a bit tighter than usual.

 _“I love you too,”_ Chanyeol responded fondly. _“Now, go shower and get here. Make sure you keep your phone and wallet on you when you come, okay?”_

“Okay,” Baekhyun whispered, and Chanyeol murmured one more “I love you” before pulling the phone from his ear, yelling at someone again before the connection got cut.

Halfway through his shower there was a knock at his door, and Sehun called through that he’d laid out a set of clothes for Baekhyun and that, if it was alright, he was going to sit in the bedroom to keep an eye on him and be near him.

Baekhyun dressed quickly—for some reason he’d been expecting to have a suit laid out, but he was pleasantly surprised when black skinny jeans were laid out next to a hoodie and one of Chanyeol’s well-worn denim jackets. He felt comfortable in that—something he commonly wore to classes during the semester. He wasn’t sure if mafia boss’ boyfriends were supposed to have any sort of criteria to follow, but it seemed now that the answer was ‘no.’

Then again, it felt like the answer should have been ‘yes’ as Minseok pulled up in front of the large, strangely normal looking building and tossed the keys to a valet.

“Is this building as intimidating to you as it is to me?” Baekhyun asked meekly, stepping out onto the curb and slamming the car door behind him.

“It gets better.”

“A little better,” Sehun added ominously. Minseok rolled his eyes.

“Come on,” he nodded towards the front door and let Sehun lead the way. “Mr. Park’s expecting you.”

 

* * *

 

Baekhyun had never been more grateful for Sehun and Minseok (okay, maybe he had that one time someone had broken into the apartment while Chanyeol had been away on business, but this was a close second). He hadn’t considered how many people would recognize him and know who he was, and so all the stares were making him decently uncomfortable. Minseok would do a sort of growl, though, and Sehun would glare back when he caught people staring. Under different circumstances, Baekhyun probably would have teased them about everyone being scared of them.

He was certainly _not_ using Sehun as a shield against the other strange people walking around in suits, stressing about…whatever was going on. Chanyeol had never told him, and Sehun and Minseok brushed off every one of his tries to get them to spill.

Much too quickly, they stepped out of an elevator onto the second floor from the top, and the instant they did Baekhyun shrunk back, wincing at the yelling that could be heard from the single meeting room at the end of the hall. Chanyeol’s voice was probably in the mix somewhere.

“Come on, he’s waiting for you.” Sehun rested a hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder.

“I am _not_ going in there.” Baekhyun took another step back and shook his head. “No way.”

“No one’s going to hurt you, they’d have to deal with us _and_ your angry boyfriend if they even tried.” Minseok tried, taking a step towards the room.

“Can’t I just—just wait in his office?” Baekhyun looked up at Sehun, fear in his eyes as someone yelled again. “Please?”

The two men looked at each other and Minseok sighed. “I’ll let him know you’re here and see what he wants. Wait here.”

Baekhyun couldn’t help but wince again when Minseok knocked on the door to the room and entered to another round of yelling. One voice overpowered the others, though, and Baekhyun sucked in a breath, recognizing it immediately.

He’d never heard _that_ tone before.

A minute later Minseok emerged, a frustrated Chanyeol right behind him buttoning his suit jacket. He softened when his eyes landed on Baekhyun, though, and Sehun stepped aside so as to give the two a clear path to each other.

“Come upstairs with me,” Chanyeol whispered, taking Baekhyun’s hand and tugging him in the elevator. Minseok and Sehun followed after getting a nod from their boss, who kept his hold on Baekhyun’s hand comfortingly tight.

The ride up to Chanyeol’s office was tense and silent, broken only by Chanyeol making sure there were no issues getting there and Minseok confirming that. Chanyeol periodically squeezed Baekhyun’s hand when he felt the student start getting fidgety, tugging him a bit closer so he was leaning both against the wall and against Chanyeol’s arm. He rested his cheek against the surprisingly soft sleeve of Chanyeol’s suit and his boyfriend turned his head and pecked the top of his head, nuzzling into his hair until the elevator stopped on the top floor and the doors opened.

Minseok and Sehun stationed themselves outside of Chanyeol’s office, and the boss nodded to them as he pulled Baekhyun in after him and shut the door.

“You’re okay,” he breathed out, taking Baekhyun in his arms and cradling his head. “Thank fucking god you’re okay.”

Baekhyun shakily squeezed his boyfriend’s waist and hid his face in his chest. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Chanyeol simply held him tighter.

“’Yeol, please.” Baekhyun pushed his head back and looked up at Chanyeol, brushing back a strand of his hair. “ _Please_ tell me what’s going on. I don’t—I’m so confused—”

“I know. I know you are, Darling.” Chanyeol pressed a kiss to Baekhyun’s forehead and then took his hands to pull him further into the office. He sat down in his big office chair and Baekhyun automatically curled into his lap, somehow fitting despite the arms of the chair. Chanyeol wrapped an arm around Baekhyun’s waist to keep him close while the other held one of Baekhyun’s hands, his thumb running along the knuckles.

“I need you to remember one thing above all else.” Chanyeol took a breath. “I love you. So, _so_ fucking much. And I’m never going to let anything happen to you as long as I’m alive, I swear.”

“’Yeol, you’re really scaring me,” Baekhyun whined, leaning into Chanyeol’s chest and burying his face in his neck. “I can’t take this—just tell me.”

“We’ve had a mole in our ranks, in _this building,”_ Chanyeol growled and Baekhyun squeezed his hand to calm him back down, “for a few months now, feeding our information to another group in China of similar size and power. They’re looking to take over from us, and they’ve sent men into our territory without alerting the proper members of my men first, they want to redraw up a contract, it’s a lot of shit. And rumor has it that a few members were heading to your old apartment to try and take you to use to get me to follow and give them what they want.”

Baekhyun’s breath hitched—he couldn’t get taken again. The first time, he’d woken up in the middle of the night almost every night for a _month_ , and it would take Chanyeol at least an hour to calm him back down enough to get him to go back to sleep.

“Hey, you’re okay,” Chanyeol could feel Baekhyun trembling in his lap. “I’m going to keep you safe. Me and Minseok and Sehun.”

“This is why you wanted to keep my apartment.” Baekhyun realized then. “Just in case…”

“Your old apartment is where anyone looking for you would go first, giving me enough time to get you out of _my_ apartment and somewhere safer.”

“Like today.”

“Precisely.” Chanyeol leaned his cheek on Baekhyun’s head and hummed in an attempt to calm him down. “You doing okay?”

“Peachy,” Baekhyun shot back. “Some insane gangsters are trying to kidnap me and use me as some sort of damsel in distress. I’m doing _great.”_ He let out a shaky sigh. “You’re lucky I love you.”

“I’m so, so sorry Baekhyun.” Chanyeol lifted one hand and ran it through his boyfriend’s hair. Baekhyun took another shaky breath and closed his eyes.

Chanyeol felt _horrible_ , he really did. But he needed to call in Sehun and Minseok and talk to them, and, no matter how touchy he and Baekhyun were at home, he couldn’t do that here. Not today.

“Darling, I need you to stand up for a few minutes, okay? I’m sorry, but I need to talk to a few people and I can’t have you here while I am.” Chanyeol pressed a kiss to Baekhyun’s neck and the student stood up unsteadily, clasping Chanyeol’s hand until he found his balance and then nodded.

Chanyeol reached for his hand after he’d let go and pressed a kiss to the knuckles. “Stay here?”

Baekhyun nodded and let Chanyeol pull him down for one more kiss before he situated himself behind his desk and Baekhyun leaned on the back of his tall-backed chair. His boyfriend called out once, and Minseok and Sehun entered the office a moment later.

“Sir?” They lined up in front of the desk and nodded respectfully at their boss and Baekhyun, who averted his eyes.

“Any updates?” Chanyeol started coldly. Baekhyun was proud of himself—he didn’t wince this time.

“None, sir.” Minseok glanced at Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s gaze got darker.

“Anything you need to say you can say it. _Now_.”

“Junmyeon thinks that Yunho was the mole, sir.”

Chanyeol hissed. “Do we know where he is?”

“No, sir.”

“Well, _find him_ —” The beginning of Chanyeol’s rant was cut off by a rapid knock on the office door, and Chanyeol flicked his eyes back and forth between the two men who split off and took up positions on either side of his desk.

“Baek, Darling,” Chanyeol grabbed Baekhyun’s hand and tugged him around while keeping his eyes on the door, “can you go over to that side of the room? I want to keep you out of their sight as much as I can.”

Baekhyun nodded and Chanyeol squeezed his hand before lightly pushing him to the side. Baekhyun wandered over to the other side of the large office, near the windows where he’d had _that_ conversation with Chanyeol just over a year ago.

Once Baekhyun was loitering at one of the tall bookshelves and thumbing through one of the books, Chanyeol called for whoever was at the door to enter. Baekhyun glanced up at the four men as they entered fleetingly before skimming over the book page again, tuning out their conversation once they started using code words and phrases that he didn’t understand.

In hindsight, he probably should have been paying attention.

Baekhyun whirled around when he heard some sort of scuffle and realized, much too late, that he was in the worst possible position in the office.

Chanyeol, Minseok, and Sehun were all standing defensively with their guns drawn, speaking tensely about _something_ that Baekhyun’s brain wasn’t registering, he was too focused on one of the other mystery guys walking towards him, gun pointed right at his chest.

“I—I…”

“Shut up.” The guy snapped. “Put the book down.”

“Leave him the _fuck_ alone,” Chanyeol growled as Baekhyun put the book down then held his hands up by his face, swallowing nervously. He met Chanyeol’s eyes which narrowed when the strange man grabbed Baekhyun’s upper arms and used his body as a shield against the rest of the room. “Don’t _touch_ him.”

“You, _Mr. Park_ ,” one of the men spoke tauntingly, and Chanyeol’s nostrils flared, “are in no position to be giving orders, hm?”

“Whatever you want,” Chanyeol said after a moment with a defeated sigh. “Just let him go.”

“Should I?” The man holding Baekhyun hummed and pulled him flush against his chest, pressing his cheek against his captive’s. “I see the appeal, Park, he’s so pretty and so, _so_ small.” Baekhyun whimpered, frozen.

Chanyeol clenched his jaw while the other Sehun and Minseok narrowed their eyes.

“Put your guns down.” The first man commanded. The three clicked the safeties on their guns and laid them carefully on Chanyeol’s desk, taking a step away from it when they were done. “Now, let’s have a nice, civilized conversation, shall we?”

He gestured with his gun and the three men moved out from behind Chanyeol’s desk, where who must have been the head man for the Zhangs sat down in Chanyeol’s chair, propping his feet up on the desk. Chanyeol crinkled his nose in disgust. “Let the midget go, Huang.”

The strange man holding Baekhyun turned him around and pushed him back towards the large windows so hard he stumbled into one of the armchairs of the small seating area. It took Minseok’s hand on Chanyeol’s arm to keep him from rushing over to him. Instead, he straightened up and fixed the man in his chair with the iciest glare he could muster.

“Let’s talk business,” the man crooned, spinning his own handgun around in the palm of his hand.

Baekhyun righted himself and glanced around the room. Two of the men were standing behind Chanyeol’s desk, one was at the door, and one more was standing off to the other side. Baekhyun had a clear shot to Chanyeol, Sehun, and Minseok, but then what? Their guns were on the table, and Baekhyun—Baekhyun _couldn’t_. He’d never shot a gun before, though now he wished he’d taken Chanyeol up on his offers to take him shooting. Even if he could shoot, though, there were no guns around so what was he supposed to do—

All the men’s attention was on Chanyeol and the other head guy—Baekhyun still didn’t know his name—so Baekhyun had the opportunity to quietly and carefully go through the drawers by the bookcase.

He found a gun in the third one he opened.

Now what?

Chanyeol probably had a plan, and by trying to cut in Baekhyun would be fucking it up, but he couldn’t just stand there while Chanyeol was—oh _no_ , Chanyeol was giving away his title as boss.

Baekhyun wasn’t going to let that happen.

He had absolutely no idea what he was doing, but all he knew was that one minute he was clicking the safety like how he’d seen Sehun and Minseok do so many times before and the next the man by the door was collapsing on himself, landing on the floor in a lifeless heap.

Everyone whirled around and Baekhyun dropped the gun in shock—he hadn’t meant to _kill_ the guy. Did he kill him—did he even hit him?

What had he _done?_

It ended up being just the distraction they needed, though, for Minseok used the momentary shock and lunged at the guy by the wall, knocking him out quickly, and Sehun and Chanyeol scrambled for their guns and while Sehun shot at the two men behind the desk Chanyeol turned around and ran for Baekhyun.

“Are you okay?” He asked, his hands finding Baekhyun’s cheeks and forcing his face up, inspecting it. “Are you hurt? Baekhyun, _look at me.”_

Baekhyun’s eyes were locked on the guy slumped by the door, the man he’d shot, the man he’d _killed_.

Oh _no_.

“No, Baekhyun, look at me.” Chanyeol stroked his thumbs over Baekhyun’s cheekbones and drew his attention up to him, and he smiled thinly when he finally did. “Hey, I need you to stay with me, okay?”

“I—I _killed_ —”

“No, Baekhyun, _no_. Don’t think about that right now, come on. We need to get you out of here, I need you to stay with me. Focus on my voice, yeah? Darling?”

Baekhyun nodded a couple times, and Chanyeol pressed a light kiss to his forehead before pulling him towards the door.

The corpse was gone—Minseok or Sehun must have moved it. There was still blood, though. In fact, the whole room smelled horrible—disgustingly metallic, and Baekhyun knew that if he focused on it he would probably throw up.

Minseok was in the front, doing a sweep of the hallway and Chanyeol’s private elevator while Sehun was speaking to someone through his earpiece. Chanyeol ordered him to make sure that the area around the elevator exit was clear and then his full attention was on Baekhyun’s trembling form, lips parted and breathing short and panicked.

“Baekhyun,” Chanyeol trapped him in the corner of the elevator and ignored the two other men speaking to people through their earpieces, taking Baekhyun’s hands and resting his forehead against his. “Hey, breathe. Darling, I need you to breathe and focus on my voice, okay? Listen to me, focus on me. I’m right here.”

Baekhyun blinked open and looked into Chanyeol’s eyes, who gave him a small smile. “Look at you, Darling, you’re so brave.”

“Yeah?” Baekhyun whispered hoarsely.

Chanyeol hummed an affirmative. “You are. You’re doing so well, I need you to hold on for me now, okay? We’re going to get you somewhere safe.”

“What about you?” Baekhyun traced one of his hands down the lapel of Chanyeol’s suit jacket. “Are you going to be safe too?”

“Baekhyun—”

“Don’t leave me.” Baekhyun let out a sob. “Please, _please_ don’t leave me. ‘Yeol—Ch-Chanyeol—I can’t—”

“Okay, Darling, breathe. I’m not going anywhere but with you, I promise.” Chanyeol pulled Baekhyun into his arms and cradled him close, nuzzling his nose in his hair and whispering in his ear. “You were doing so well a minute ago, Baek. Can you try and calm down for me again? We’re almost out.”

By the time the elevator opened up on the ground floor a majority of Baekhyun’s trembling had subsided, though his breathing was still short and he cowered back when one of Chanyeol’s loyal men stepped forward to address Minseok. Chanyeol simply shushed him and squeezed him tighter.

“Your car is outside,” Sehun turned to Chanyeol, taking his finger off the earpiece. “Junmyeon will be downstairs with your things in a moment.”

Chanyeol nodded. “Kyungsoo?”

“Screaming at some people, probably.” Minseok joined their conversation and waved the men he’d been speaking with off with a single hand flick.

“Get him to call me as soon as he can,” Chanyeol instructed firmly. He glanced down at Baekhyun, still curled in his arms, and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Take Baekhyun out—”

“No.” Baekhyun fisted Chanyeol’s jacket in his hand and leaned into his chest. “You said you weren’t going to leave me.”

“I’m not, Darling. I’ll meet you out there in just a minute.” Chanyeol promised. “I just need to go check on something. Go with Sehun and Minseok for now, they’ll keep you safe until I get back.”

Baekhyun took a couple breath against Chanyeol’s chest and then nodded.

“You’re _so_ brave, Baekhyun.” Chanyeol kissed the top of his head again. “I won’t be long.”

“Be careful?” Baekhyun looked up with glassy eyes and met Chanyeol’s.

“Of course.” He promised warmly, and Baekhyun squeezed his handful of fabric once more and then detached from the boss, following Sehun out of the elevator and down a side hallway with Minseok bringing up the rear.

Baekhyun shoved his jittery hands in his coat pockets, squeezing them into fists so hard he wondered if he’d pierced the soft skin of his palms. Chanyeol wouldn’t be happy if he did, his boyfriend loved holding his hand and playing with his fingers, and if he got so much as a papercut Chanyeol would pout and ask Baekhyun to take better care of himself.

Baekhyun winced—he _had_ been squeezing his fists rather hard, and he felt the warm, sticky liquid running along the crevices of his palms and between his fingers, just like the blood that ran out of the man earlier and onto the ground as he laid in a heap by the door, dead—

Baekhyun inhaled sharply.

“Baekhyun?” he looked up to see that Sehun had paused in the middle of the hallway and was looking at him in concern. “Are you alright?”

“Alright,” Baekhyun spoke stiffly, “is the opposite of what I am right now.”

“Hey—”

“I _killed_ someone, Sehun. Oh, my god. I—” Baekhyun could feel the panic setting in—it was too much. “A real person, who’s dead because I shot him. I don’t even know how to shoot a gun!”

“Baekhyun, calm down.” Sehun took a small step towards the student.

“How am I supposed to live with myself?” Baekhyun was nearly hysterical, tears blurring his vision. He pulled his hands from his jacket pockets and ran them up his face, smearing the blood on his forehead and in his hair. “how—what am I supposed to do now?”

Everything was spinning, and Sehun was going in and out of focus. The male was talking to him, Baekhyun knew it, but his ears must have been clogged with something because he couldn’t hear, and all of the sudden Sehun disappeared and everything went black.

The last thing Baekhyun registered were arms—Minseok’s, probably—wrapping around his torso and keeping him from slamming into the ground.

 

* * *

 

Baekhyun wondered if it was all a dream—a horrible, horrible nightmare when he rolled over and buried his face in Chanyeol’s pillow, in Chanyeol’s bed, wearing nothing but his briefs and one of Chanyeol’s thick sweatshirts. It very well could have been, especially since he was used to strange nightmares now that he knew what Chanyeol’s line of work really was.

He realized it wasn’t when he went to run an exhausted hand over his face and felt the gauze wrapped around his palm and an uncomfortable pulling on his skin when he tried to stretch his fingers apart.

So that meant—

“Chanyeol?” Baekhyun pushed up on his elbow, which proved to be much harder than it should have been. His body wasn’t _listening_ to him, and that was a bit freaky. “ _Chanyeol?”_

Baekhyun was just putting his socked feet on the plush throw carpet under the bed when Chanyeol appeared in the doorway, still in his slacks and dress shirt but without the tie and jacket with his sleeves pushed up to his elbows.

“Whoa, Darling, stay there. It’s okay, I’m here.” Chanyeol helped Baekhyun get situated under the blankets again and the perched on the edge of the bed, facing his boyfriend who looked so very confused and a bit scared. “What do you remember?”

“I—I don’t…” Baekhyun furrowed his brows and Chanyeol took one of his bandaged hands and kissed each finger and knuckle, the soft peck of his lips calming Baekhyun and helping him to clear his mind. “I was with Sehun, in the hallway. And I just, I just fell.”

Chanyeol nodded. “Anything before that?”

Baekhyun hummed and Chanyeol sat there patiently, rubbing along his knuckles and waiting for him to work through it all.

Baekhyun let out a heavy breath. “Yeah.”

“Everything?”

“Yeah.” Chanyeol shifted around and Baekhyun sagged against him, completely limp and staring blankly at a fold in the comforter in his lap.

“How are you feeling?” The boss asked gently, running one hand through Baekhyun’s hair while the other continued fiddling with his fingers. Baekhyun blinked slowly a couple times before answering.

“I’m not.”

“No?” Chanyeol had been prepared for a lot of answers—that wasn’t one of them. “Darling—”

“I can’t explain it.” Baekhyun shifted over and Chanyeol slid down the bed so he was half laying down and half leaning against the headboard. Baekhyun moved with him naturally and stayed curled into his side. “I’m still a bit…I don’t know. High on adrenaline? And a little freaked out, to be honest. Can you promise to be honest with me for a minute?”

“What is it?” Chanyeol looked down at Baekhyun. His boyfriend met his eyes and blinked, studying him. Chanyeol could lie to a lot of people about a lot of things—but he could _never_ lie to Baekhyun, not anymore.

“Did I,” Baekhyun swallowed and licked his lips, “did I kill him?”

“You did.” The corner of Chanyeol’s lip quirked up. “You have incredible aim for someone who’s never held a gun before in his life.”

Baekhyun hummed. “Why don’t I feel guilty?”

“You went through a lot.” Chanyeol reasoned after a minute. “Perhaps you’re still in shock.”

“ _No_ , Chanyeol,” Baekhyun pushed back and sat up. “I’m—there’s no gaping hole in my chest. There’s no crushing guilt that I shot a man, probably with a wife and kids and parents and a house and a life and I took all that away from him.”

“Why’d you do it?” Chanyeol reached forward and brushed a piece of Baekhyun’s hair back from where it had fallen in his face. “Darling, why’d you shoot him? I was…I would’ve…”

“You would’ve what, ‘Yeol?” Baekhyun let out a bitter laugh and looked down, fingering at the ridge of the comforter pooled in his lap. “ _You_ would’ve shot him? When your gun was on the table and they were threatening to kill us all? What were you going to do?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Chanyeol shook his head. “I just—I never wanted you to have to do that. I’m here to protect you, you shouldn’t have to protect me.”

“What if…what if I wanted to?” Baekhyun looked up at Chanyeol briefly and took a deep breath. “I don’t want this to fall on you all the time. I want to help you, Chanyeol. I don’t want to—to wait at home wondering if you’re going to come back tonight. I don’t want to be some helpless little bitch that you feel like you have to have babysitters. I don’t want to feel like…” Baekhyun wiped angrily at one of his eyes, cursing in his head the fact that he cried when he got frustrated. “I don’t want to feel like half your life.”

“You’re not,” Chanyeol shook his head and shifted forward, planting both his hands on either side of Baekhyun’s hips on the bed and leaning forward. “You’re my whole life, Darling.”

“It doesn’t feel like it. I’m so far out of the loop, it feels like—nevermind.”

“No, tell me.” Chanyeol reached out slowly and wiped another tear from Baekhyun’s cheek. “Darling, what is it?”

“Are you hiding me?”

“Of course.” Chanyeol was confused. “I don’t—I don’t want you to end up like me.”

“Is that such a bad thing?” Baekhyun asked after taking in a shaky breath. “I love you.”

“And I love you, which is why I’m trying to keep you safe.” Chanyeol cupped the same cheek he’d just been touching and leaned their foreheads together. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“And _I_ don’t want anything to happen to you,” Baekhyun argued back. “Let me join you.”

“No.” The mafia boss shook his head. “I’m not going to let you get fucked up the same way I am.”

“What the hell just happened, Chanyeol?” Baekhyun yelled. “You don’t want me to be fucked up? You sealed my fate the second you asked for my number. I’m surprised it took two years for me to get to this point.”

“You’ve thought about this before.” Chanyeol realized with a sigh. He should’ve seen this coming.

“I can’t believe you haven’t.” Baekhyun shot back. He looked down and nudged Chanyeol’s hand with his, and his boyfriend obediently flipped his hand over so they could lace their fingers together. “Please, ‘Yeol. Let me be with you. I’ve been around this long, I know what goes on. I know the risks, and the problems, and the successes and the failures.”

“Once you’re in you can’t back out,” Chanyeol said seriously. “I’m not going to tell you what I want you to do because this has to be entirely your own decision. Whatever you do, though, I’ll support you.”

Baekhyun released Chanyeol’s hand and shimmied out of the blankets. He walked forward on his knees and straddled Chanyeol’s lap, his boyfriend’s hands coming to rest in the curve on his waist automatically.

“Will you?” He whispered, hands circling the back of Chanyeol’s neck.

“I’ll always support you,” Chanyeol promised breathlessly, leaning in to nuzzle along Baekhyun’s neck.

Baekhyun bit his lip and met Chanyeol’s eyes, pausing for only a moment before declaring “I want to join you.”

Not once had Chanyeol even dreamed he would hear those words from his angel of a boyfriend yet here he was, his boyfriend settled in his lap saying something that made him feel entirely elated.

“Fuck, Baekhyun, I love you.” Chanyeol leaned up and caught Baekhyun in a kiss, one entirely too soft for the conversation they just had.

It did escalate, and a few minutes later Chanyeol had Baekhyun sprawled on his back in nothing more than his briefs, his own shirt discarded somewhere on the floor.

“You won’t get the tattoo until you graduate,” Chanyeol whispered between kisses he was trailing up Baekhyun’s neck, licking the spot behind his right ear where the crossed triangles would go—the tattoo that represented the Parks. “We don’t want anyone getting suspicious.”

Baekhyun moaned in response and keened when Chanyeol palmed his erection.

“Let me give you something temporary to hold you over.”

 

* * *

 

“At this point we’re practically engaged,” Chanyeol said with a laugh, brushing Baekhyun’s hair back to get a better look at his new tattoo.

The (no longer) college student hummed. “Practically.”

Chanyeol let his hair drop and dug around in his suit pocket for a minute. He pulled something out and knelt beside the vinyl chair, a velvet box in his hands.

Baekhyun’s jaw dropped. “Chanyeol…”

“Why don’t we make this official?”

**Author's Note:**

> soooo..... (this wasn't proofread beyond a quick skim i hope it doesn't suck please don't destroy me too much i'm a ball of stress from uni and it's only been 2 weeks TT)
> 
> i kind of have one more work planned for this. i turned this into a series to show baekhyun's downward spiral (you see what i did there) into the same insanity chanyeol is trapped in. the first was his introduction to the mafia, this is the first time he shot someone and then his induction (sort of), and then i have one more work a little further down the line.
> 
> man uni is kicking my ass TTTT this took me so much longer to write than i wanted, and the new benefits chapter isn't very far along either (i'm sorryyyy) please don't hate me!! i'm writing as fast as i can i promise, it's just most of my classes involve a lot of reading which is taking up a lot of my time (the odyssey makes me want to DIE). i'll continue updating as much as i can! 
> 
> come say hi to me on twitter!! [loeysxdaisies](https://twitter.com/loeysxdaises)
> 
> curious cat for those of you shy little beans (i'd still love hear from you!) [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/loeysxdaisies)
> 
> i hope you all have a wonderful day <3<3


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